Forty-three students representing thirteen universities throughout Virginia recently completed CivilianCyber’s spring cohort of its Technology Engagement with Mentoring, or TEEM, program. TEEM is an eight-week program developed in partnership with the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) to provide students with real-world experience along with developing critical thinking and soft skills that aren’t always attained in a classroom environment.
The students attend the following universities: George Mason University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Old Dominion University, College of William and Mary, Virginia Tech, Virginia Peninsula Community College, Liberty University, New River Community College, Tidewater Community College, University of Virginia, Radford University, James Madison University and Northern Virginia Community College.
Students in the program completed a combination of self-paced online cybersecurity training through CivilianCyber’s Your Career Counselor (YCC) platform and a thought challenge to propose a solution to a current cybersecurity problem. In addition, each student was paired with an experienced professional who served as a mentor throughout the eight weeks. The mentors included: Leigh Anne Dunn, Faith Weems, Michael Richardson, Mary Jane Bolling, Natalie Birindelli, Kevin Alston, Mark Nichols, Paul Bains, Cathy Hubbs, Andrew Bennet, Jackie Li, John Burns, Zachary Becka, Ed Gooding, Nate Lee, Bill Cramer, Tommy Maurer, Ken Spedden, Orlando Ferreiras, Michael Simonson.
Quotes from student participants:
“My involvement in the program will positively impact my future. Throughout this program, I have gained professional soft skills that will help me to be more career ready and successful.”
“I gained a lot of industry experience because of the meetings with my mentor, and I will definitely apply the knowledge I learned in future positions.”
“I really enjoyed learning the content offered and the meetings with my mentor have incredible benefits. It allows me to learn for my career and have a person I can turn to in case I have questions.”
“My involvement in the TEEM program made me step outside of my comfort zone and gave me the chance to network with a cybersecurity/information technology professional. I have added on to my soft and technical skills while also making a lifelong friend out of my mentor. I would recommend this program to literally anyone because it has helped me so much!”
For more information on TEEM visit https://cteworkforce.com/rap.